February 5, 2014 5:11pm ESTFebruary 5, 2014 4:54pm ESTNo team has repeated as Super Bowl champ since the Patriots. The Seahawls are next, SN's Vinnie Iyer says. From salary cap to youth and talent, they have every piece in place to win the Lombardi Trophy in 2015.Pete Carroll(AP Photo)

It’s been 10 years since an NFL team has been able to repeat as Super Bowl champions. But no champ in the last nine years has been built as well to end that drought as the Seattle Seahawks.

The Patriots were the last to pull off the double in 2003 and 2004. They did it with a then-rising young quarterback (Tom Brady), an underrated group of other offensive skill players and most important, a deep, hard-hitting defense with strengths at every level. Their leader was a defensive guru (Bill Belicihick) who fared much better in his second stint as an NFL head coach.

Sound familiar? With Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll and their dominant defense, the 2013 and now 2014 Seahawks have the formula to not only avoid the Super Bowl hangover, but to pull off the dynastic double.

The 43-8 destruction of the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII was the largest margin of victory in the Super Bowl since Dallas routed Buffalo, 52-27 a good 21 years ago. Those Cowboys repeated the next season.

While the history helps, it’s the Seahawks’ present makeup that makes their short-term future so promising. Before they marched in Wednesday’s victory parade in Seattle, Carroll already had the team focused on next season with a Tuesday meeting. It’s also nice he coaches many proud players who are driven to be among the best of all time, and not just great for one year.

“We really have an eye on what’s coming, and that we don’t dwell on what just happened,” Carroll said on Monday. “We are in a very fortunate situation. John Schneider has done an extraordinary job of structuring this roster contractually and with the vision of looking ahead so that we can keep our guys together. One of the things that happens every so often is teams have a big fallout after they win the Super Bowl. We’re not in that situation.”

The Seahawks, according to overthecap.com, could currently be as much as $2 million under the 2014 salary cap of $126 million. Their most notable unrestricted free agents are defensive end Michael Bennett, wide receiver Golden Tate, cornerback Brandon Browner and kicker Steven Haushcka.

Bennett should be the highest priority to keep their pass rush fortified. Although Tate made some key plays for them, he should be re-signable as he can’t draw much bigger value elsewhere. Browner was suspended and not a factor during their Super Bowl run, and the reliable Hauschka shouldn’t be difficult to retain.

It will be much harder to keep the roster intact for 2015. The Seahawks need to extend Wilson, Sherman and Earl Thomas to more lucrative contracts that will limit their spending powers elsewhere. The chances of a Super Bowl “three-peat” are none, anyway, considering not even the best past champions have been able to do it.

As for the repeat, the odds are in Seattle’s favor. The team’s best competition again will come from NFC West rival San Francisco. As we saw with the Broncos, the best teams in the weaker AFC, even with quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Andrew Luck, still pale to what the Seahawks will have coming back.

While in theory every team in the league wants to “copycat” Seattle, good luck with building the same caliber of team in a short time.

After Seattle, here are the Top 2015 Super Bowl contenders:

2. San Francisco 49ers. Yes, this season’s real Super Bowl was the NFC title game, and it’s a good chance the hated rivals face off a third time for it all next season. The Niners’ goal: Getting that game in new Levi’s Stadium, and not in front of Seattle’s 12th Man.

3. Green Bay Packers. A healthy Aaron Rodgers puts them in the Super Bowl mix every year, and Eddie Lacy revived the running game. The right defensive overhaul, something of which GM Ted Thompson is capable, would put them right there.

4. Carolina Panthers. Their defense isn’t far behind Seattle’s, with the secondary being the first upgrade. They return the coach of the year, defensive player of the year, and if they can give Cam Newton a little more help, they can soon add the offensive player of the year.

5. Denver Broncos. Even if they lose some players around Peyton Manning (Eric Decker, Knowshon Moreno), they still would have Peyton Manning. We told you the AFC was weak, and even with Manning throwing ducks, he’s on the best overall team to get right back to the Super Bowl.